Little Moments in a Great Big World
by RedMonocle
Summary: A collection of ficlets for JotaKak Week 2017. COMPLETE.
1. Booming

_Day 1: Staying up Late_

* * *

The sounds are hazy: something like a buzz, the slide of metal, and tiptoes. Jotaro doesn't even hear the groan of wood under someone's weight until his name is spoken.

"Jotaro," Noriaki calls, "Did you hear something?"

He speaks the words with enough of an edge that Jotaro stirs from half-consciousness. As he blinks his classmate into bleary vision, Noriaki is turned from the hotel desk to look back at him. Jotaro sits up, pushing his legs to fall off the side of his mattress. A glance to the other side of the room shows scrambled sheets and 3:45 AM on the night stand clock.

Jotaro yawns, "I zoned out. What was it?"

"Something… booming outside?" With a sigh, Noriaki shakes his head, "It was probably my imagination. You should go back to sleep. Sorry to disturb you."

"You're not disturbing me," Jotaro assured. Noriaki hums like he doesn't quite believe him, as he turns back to hunch over the desk. With a soft groan, Jotaro braces his fingers together and stretches his arms to the ceiling. His footsteps creak across the wooden floor as he closes the distance to see what Noriaki's been up to. There's a book in front of him, alternating lines in English and a language he can't read.

"So that's what's been keeping you up?"

"It never hurts to know a few phrases for where you're headed. You don't know when it will come in handy."

Before he can comment, the noise comes again, for both of them to hear. Noriaki nearly jolts out of his seat, nearly knocking it backwards. Jotaro's hands fly instinctively to catch the back of the chair.

"That the noise?"

"Yes," Noriaki utters, throat tight and struggling for a steady voice. Jotaro thinks he knows the sound, and quickly makes his way towards the window.

As he nudges the curtains open, he sees bright strings dancing across the dark skies.

"It's thunder," Jotaro answers, not looking back at him. "Weird. There's no rain."

"Oh," Noriaki sags a little, with a weak laugh, "That's called a dry thunderstorm. They can occur in desert areas, so… no wonder…"

As the sound strikes again, Jotaro shuts the curtain to see Noriaki clapping his book shut, eyes screwed tightly closed.

Jotaro's brows soften with concern, "You okay?"

"I have a phobia," Noriaki admits, but the words come out with shame in them.

Jotaro is silent for a moment, eyes moving over his classmate's tense form. The foreign book is trapped tightly between Noriaki's shaking fingers. His arms have gone rigid, pulled tight against his sides, and his knees are drawn together under the desk. Where he had been bent over the text before, now his spine has gone stiff as a rod.

"What would help?" Jotaro asks, his hand leaned against the edge of the desk, arm like a protective brace.

"Give me a moment." Noriaki carefully lets the book fall to the desk, before resting his head against his propped up hands. After a few deep breaths, he explains, "I used to turn off the lights and plug my ears. But I left my ear plugs at home."

"I have my grandpa's Walkman, if that helps."

Noriaki looks up with an expression of skepticism, until Jotaro fishes it out of his uniform pocket.

Shaking his head, Noriaki smiles, "When did you get that?"

"Doesn't matter. Here," Jotaro reaches out to put the ear buds in, tucking back a lock of Noriaki's hair. Their eyes linger on each other's for a long moment. But it's something comfortable, something that Noriaki leans into, fingers skimming across the hand leaving his face.

"Thank you kindly." There's a warmth in his smile that makes Jotaro shift, wishing he could hide behind his absent hat. Instead, he finally averts his eyes and plays whatever tape his grandpa left inside, dialing up the volume a little.

It drowns out the noise rather well. Jotaro is pleased to watch Noriaki's faces as he recognizes songs on the tape. But weariness comes dripping back into his bones. He sways standing, leaned against the desk, determined not to leave until he's certain his companion feels alright. Noticing the way Jotaro sags, Noriaki decides to silently return to his own bed with a short bow.

"So it's working?" Jotaro asks, and Noriaki nods, killing the lights.

"Thank you again. Good night, Jojo."

Jotaro takes that opening to go back to sleep. But Noriaki doesn't join him. He sits with his back against the headboard, humming to himself, eyes running fondly over the slack shape of his classmate in repose.

Around 6 AM, Jotaro stirs to the sound of someone shouting in the room next door: a distant "oh no!"

"Kakyoin," He grumbles, "You hear something?"

"What?" Noriaki replies, taking out his earphones. When Mr. Joestar barges in an hour later, he snatches back his possession with a laugh and a mutter on his lips.

"Kids these days." He wags his finger, "Don't let me catch you again. Now get up. We're going."

When they head out, Noriaki finally knocks out in the car, leaning his head against Jotaro's frame. And for a moment, he's worried that the sound of a different kind of booming will scare him, will ruin everything he's been too afraid to hope for. But when Noriaki seems to nuzzle closer, completely slack as if Jotaro's chest is the comfiest place in the world, he's able to breathe easy. He hears something.

Noriaki's heart is thudding hard too.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I got carried away and finished this late. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to meet a deadline for another project ;w;**

 **[All characters in these ficlets belong to** **Hirohiko Araki,** ** **Lucky Land,**** ** ** **Shueisha, Shonen Jump,**** David Productions, ******Warner Bros. Japan, and all other additional entities responsible for the creation/ownership of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.]****

 **-Reddie**


	2. Doting Deadbeat Disasters

**A/N:**

 **Lol I didn't mean to make it feelsy. Basically, AU in which Jotaro didn't marry his ex-wife, but they were good friends in college but I didn't manage to write her in; and also, Kakyoin is trans and gave birth to Jolyne. Lastly, sorry for not unkilling everyone.**

 **Content warning for minor mentions of near-death experience and past major injury.**

 **-Reddie**

* * *

 _Day 2: Part 4 Time Period_

* * *

Noriaki has tasted the limits of his mortality many times before.

It's what has him lying awake some nights nursing phantom pains in his abdomen or at the base of his artificial spine. It's what has him pressing a shaky kiss to Jotaro's lips at the airport, before descending to one knee with a proposal. It's what has him grasping tightly to his husband's shoulders the morning after their honeymoon, as he wakes up from a nightmare of painful dying. It's what compels him after joining the Speedwagon Foundation to edit and re-edit his will weekly in the real possibility his daughter Jolyne can lose one of her fathers.

There are a million little things Noriaki can worry about as Morioh comes into view. But in the quiet of a taxi, sitting hand-in-hand with Jotaro, there's little else he wants to think of aside from the feeling of this calm presence beside him, before the chaos comes again.

"Good grief," Jotaro exhales, slouching against his seatbelt. "The old man certainly has made a real mess of things." Kakyoin nudges him with an elbow.

"To be fair, I wouldn't say either of us have room to talk about being model parents."

At that, Jotaro cracks a smile, elbowing him back, "Says the man who calls Jolyne every morning without fail."

"You make that sound like it's _above_ the bare minimum of being a decent parent," Noriaki laughs. "Trust me. When she's older, she's going to wish both her parents had been around for her more. A child should only have to spend so many years between babysitters."

"At least it's my mom this month…" Jotaro looks out the car window. "Still, it's better that she stay there than with us. I don't want her anywhere near Morioh the way it is now."

With the tone of the conversation shifting, Noriaki nods in agreement, "Neither do I."

The flashing thought of the serial killer he'd seen in the investigation files brings a wave of disgust to Noriaki's gut. Jotaro notices his husband grimacing and doesn't say anything more. He's known for a long time it's in Noriaki's nature to worry, that it isn't just something he can bat away with a kiss to the hand. So he does the only thing he can to ease those troubles: he shows patience.

They sit in silence together, watching the buildings move past in the wide streets, until the driver chimes in to say they've reached their stop.

Noriaki expects his husband to let his hand go as they step out onto the sidewalk. But Jotaro doesn't. He seems to hesitate just to reach for the town map, despite the need to get going. The sooner they can sort out things out with Jotaro's family, the sooner they can get to the bottom of the missing persons epidemic in Morioh.

But when he looks up to see Jotaro's expression, he meets a fixed gaze with a sad tenderness, a specific type he's seen before.

Once, he had seen it during their engagement, when Jotaro had relayed back the story of Caesar Zeppeli, and of William Zeppeli before him. That night, he told Noriaki he wouldn't hold it against him if he ever changed his mind about their marriage. With a heavy heart, Jotaro told him that no one should be forced to carry the curse of the Joestar family against their will.

"Nori. You don't have to stay here, you know," Jotaro says, the twitch of his grip betraying the steadiness of his voice. And Noriaki sighs at this, a curve on his lips caught between a frown and a smile. He would repeat himself as many times as he needed to.

Noriaki remembers the promise he made that night, how he had kissed Jotaro's hand and said he freely wished to stay by his side, no matter what.

"Nonsense," Noriaki squeezed his hand reassuringly. "There's power in numbers."

It's a bit of an uneasy smile that meets him, but there's a tentative trust in it. Someday, he hopes he can make Jotaro believe their love is stronger than any curse in his blood.


	3. Something Sweet

**A/N:**

 **Post-SDC AU during like, the extra third year of high school they probably had to spend after coming back from Egypt. As you can see, I got… carried away again. I swear, I'll eventually get a ficlet in on time for once! ;w;**

 **Inspired by the two tins of hot chocolate sitting untouched in my family's kitchen.**

 **Content warning for mild suggestive themes. Enjoy!  
**

 **-Reddie**

* * *

 _Day 3: Cold Winter Day_

* * *

The weather isn't _that_ bad, per se, just stronger than they anticipated.

Jotaro and Noriaki don't particularly regret going to school a couple of layers underprepared for the snow. But it's the walk back from school that makes them reconsider their preference against wearing socks.

Despite always being buttoned up, poor Noriaki seems to bear the worst of it, winding and rubbing the ends of his flimsy scarf over his hands in vain.

"And here I thought I was suffering," Jotaro sighs, the corners of his lips turning up ever the slightest bit. Noriaki's gaze traces the escaping mist of his breath up to the amusement in his boyfriend's eyes as Jotaro comments, "Christ, you're _convulsing_."

"How are you _not_ , walking around with your uniform open like that?" Noriaki rejoins, though it lacks any genuine bite.

Jotaro shrugs, "I dunno." Taking one of his hands out of his pants pockets, he slides a palm to cover his boyfriend's icy hands. Noriaki melts slightly at the touch, heart jumping for a moment as Jotaro asks, "That better?" He squints, eyes tracing their way down towards Jotaro's tucked away hand.

"You're not secretly hiding one of those little pocket warmers in your uniform, are you?"

Mouth curving into a definite smile, he tugs Noriaki's hand closer to his side, "Willing to find out?"

The suggestion has Noriaki flushing enough that, for one second, the temperature becomes a negligible issue at the back of his head. Returning a smirk, he's more than ready to slip his hand into Jotaro's pocket before he hears a voice calling for them.

"There you boys are! Welcome back!" At the sight of Holly standing at the gate of the Kujo house, Noriaki is retracting his fingers backward in embarrassment. Yes, she's happily aware he's her son's boyfriend, but it certainly doesn't seem a… polite gesture to be feeling Jotaro up right in front of her, at least where she can see. He glances up to Jotaro's face apologetically only to find his sheepishness echoed in averted blue eyes. Waving, Holly continues to call, "It's freezing out here! Hurry inside!"

At the gust that passes over them, she doesn't have to tell them twice.

* * *

They hide away in a cozy guestroom, legs folded up under a kotatsu as they procrastinate on their scattered homework over a game of Egyptian War. It's a time-consuming card game, a pleasant distraction that brings a swell of nostalgia back to several lost nights on the road, memories of wagers and excuses for close contact they had been too reticent to admit to before. Noriaki himself often suggested Egyptian War solely because it gave him the excuse to hold Jotaro's hand, if just for a second, when slapping in to claim a double in the stack.

He finds it funny, how he doesn't need an excuse anymore, just permission that Jotaro constantly seems to be inviting in whatever way he can think of.

Jotaro slaps his hand down just a second quicker over the last sandwich made by Noriaki's cards.

"I win," Jotaro declares, but instead of dragging the last cards between them back into the deck, he moves his hand to lift Noriaki's fingers to his lips. Yet somehow, the skin there is still chilly to the touch. "Huh. You're still cold."

Noriaki shrugs, "My body's slow to warm up." Then, with a sly smile, he teases, "You're more than welcome to help speed up that process."

Jotaro hums at that, eyes fixed tenderly on the hand held in his as he strokes a thumb over Noriaki's knuckles. Their knees bump together under the table, back and forth, and just as Noriaki starts to trace a toe up his boyfriend's leg, the door slides open.

"Aw, look at you two," Holly croons and Noriaki freezes up. Despite being too late, Jotaro draws back his hand, head ducked as he straightens out the deck. Holly merely hums a laugh, setting down a tray of whipped cream-topped mugs between them. "I thought you boys might appreciate a nice hot drink in this weather. It's a family recipe from my mother's side."

With his foot still planted against Jotaro's thigh, Noriaki sends a deceptively innocent smile, "Thank you very much, Mrs. Kujo."

"Oh, it's my pleasure," Holly giggles, turning around, "Alright, I'll leave you two to your homework. I'm sure you have a lot to do."

As the door closes, Jotaro reaches for one of the mugs to take a sip, drinking the soothingly familiar, creamy warmth of Christmases spent in New York. Noriaki watches quizzically, trying to guess at what it is. He can smell cinnamon, vanilla extract, something of citrus, and a dark note he knows well but just can't find the name for off the top of his head.

"Hot chocolate," Jotaro says, disentangling himself from his boyfriend. "Hang on."

Getting up, he leaves the room, returning swiftly with a small jar enclosed in his hands. Sitting down again at the kotatsu, he unscrews the lid and dumps a clump of maraschino cherries over the top of Noriaki's mug. His eyes flicker to gauge a response and the glitter in those violet eyes is more than Jotaro can ever ask for.

"Truly," Noriaki chuckles, hand over his chest, "a man after my own heart."

* * *

Noriaki spends too long trying to show Jotaro how to tie cherry stems with his tongue before they actually accomplish a little under the bare minimum of the work they have due tomorrow.

Safe to say, they hardly get anything else done, but that doesn't stop them from eventually calling it a night.

Under the thick haven of covers, the world seems reduced to the small space between them in Jotaro's room. The heater is broken there, still pending for repair, and so they push their futons close together, tangling limbs to keep the warmth between them. And it more than seems to be enough.

Jotaro murmurs, kicking fondly, "Your feet are cold."

"I know," Noriaki whispers back, kicking him back. He winds an arm around Jotaro's shoulder to pull himself closer, and with a brief press of Noriaki's wide smile to Jotaro's, he comments, "And your lips are chapped."

"Really? Why don't you double check?" Jotaro coaxes, bumping his forehead against Noriaki's, feeling the burn of his boyfriend's skin against his own. And their lips meet, again and again, dizzy drinking in the sweetness of warmth and happiness, the safety and quiet while the winds spin away outside.

No, the weather isn't that bad.


	4. You Know, Because Reasons

**A/N:**

 **AU in which there's a reason Jotaro wears a turtleneck in part 4 ;)**

 **Gosh, that's embarrassing to type /o\ Anyway, here's ALL the prompts for today, mashed together, because I couldn't decide which one I wanted to do most and I'm REALLY dancing along the edge of the rating here ':3.**

 **Content warning for mild suggestive themes. Hope you enjoy!**

 **-Reddie**

* * *

 _Day 4: Apologies | Laughter | Biting/Scratching_

* * *

It's almost a running joke, Noriaki continuing to wear Jotaro's hand-me-down striped pajamas to bed long after they stop fitting him.

He reaches the point where the waistband of the pants cling snug with the spill of skin over their edges, and the faded top goes completely unbuttoned, as it's the only way he can fit it over his shoulders without tearing the thing apart in a morning arm stretch. And Jotaro thinks it should look silly, to see a grown man halfway cozy and halfway squeezed into something he wore to sleep in middle school.

But instead, it makes Noriaki that much harder to resist when they settle into bed together. He can hardly help the way his tired eyes trace over his fiancé's bare skin, every battle scar, his dimples, the moles at his neck and shoulders and between his collarbones that Noriaki's admits embarrassment over. But Jotaro wants to kiss every single exposed place, badly, and he has to turn on his side away from Noriaki like a love-struck teenager trying not to get caught having a crush.

At the end of the day, sometimes Noriaki wants to mess around just a little bit with his fiancé. It's a want for nothing that will make them sore in the morning, nothing that will exhaust them beyond their need to wake up for work, just the simplicity of a handsy make out session.

It's an invitation that Jotaro accepts on an average night with an exterior calmness, but Noriaki knows better when he can feel his fiancé's heart hammering under his touch. They meet with lazy kisses, shaping tired smiles against each other's mouths and skin with the slowness of a day's exhaustion. Jotaro has nothing but fondness for the quiet, content sighs he can evoke with gentle pecks against the constellations at Noriaki's throat.

And Noriaki has a bit of a… troublesome oral fixation that Jotaro is too eager to oppose. He likes to bite, likes the texture of his fiancé's shoulder or neck under his teeth, the nervous swallows and hitches in pulse they cause, and that's poor Jotaro's greatest weakness.

Come one morning, when they're squeezing out toothpaste together in front of the bathroom mirror, Jotaro stops cold, realizing his mistake.

"Oh, crap," Jotaro hisses, touching along the clearly visible rainbow of hickeys trailing almost all the way up to his jaw. He tries to count them, figure out how high his collar can reach, but all he can think of is how he won't be able to look his assistant or students in the eye today, or maybe even for the coming week for that matter.

It's a short snickering snort that has his eyes flickering to his fiancé.

"Shit, I overdid it," Noriaki exhales, covering the amusement on his lips with his hand. "Ah, sorry."

And Jotaro thinks it ends there, but then Noriaki has the nerve to start _giggling_. The embarrassment squeezes around Jotaro's skull as he thinks about how it's too early in the morning for this level of nonsense.

Flushing, Jotaro protests, "Don't laugh!"

"Sorry, sorry," Noriaki repeats, biting back the last of his laughter. Wiping away a tear at the corner of eye, he reassures, "I really am. I won't let it happen again, I promise."

"Whatever, just—" He pinches the bridge of his nose, hating how he can feel the burn against his cheeks so presently. Sighing, he asks, "Help me cover it up, please."

Lips pursed in thought for a brief moment, Noriaki puts up a finger like a lightbulb is above it, and retreats to their bedroom. Jotaro thinks he'll bring back his white scarf, but instead it's something else.

"Here," Noriaki offers, placing a folded sleeveless turtleneck in his fiancé's hands, "This was always too big for me. Maybe it will fit you."

And when it does fit, Jotaro is breathing in relief, enough to laugh.

From that point forward, the hickeys hardly have time to go away before he's asking Noriaki for new ones.


	5. River Flower

**A/N:**

 **Some reason, I headcanon that Jotaro falls first just because. Takes place during episode 12, Hanahaki disease AU, which is basically AU where people catch a respiratory disease that makes you cough out the favorite flowers of the person you're in love with. The cure is reciprocated love, falling out of love, or surgery.**

 **Content warnings for mentions of injection needles and** ** **mild vomiting**.**

 **-Reddie**

* * *

 _Day 5:_ _Flowers_

* * *

With his mother's life on the line, the last thing Jotaro wants to worry about is contracting an illness.

They leave in such a hurry for Egypt that getting their vaccinations in order doesn't register as a concern until they've already made it to Varanasi. As his grandfather Joseph takes off on his own for the hospital, it's Noriaki who suggests sneaking after him to get their immunizations up to date. Jotaro thinks he's the only one who needs them, until Noriaki is rolling up his sleeves too.

"Didn't you get shots before going to Egypt the first time?" Jotaro asks, pulling the sleeve of his uniform jacket back on.

"Yes," Noriaki answers, "but there are just a couple missing for the places we'll be passing through. It shouldn't take long, and then we can head to the hotel."

And Jotaro watches as his classmate moves forward, greets the nurse with a smile, and takes a seat. There's something captivating about the lax stillness Noriaki assumes while taking his shots, a collected and elegant strength that stirs up the sense of magnetism all around him. It's Noriaki's nature, the focused, almost intimidating determination he maintains, even when Jotaro notices his fingers gone stiff, his violet eyes gone wide, that has Jotaro's throat feeling all tied up in knots.

It's something so _simple_ that has him coughing those knots out into his hand just after Noriaki is wrapping up.

Jotaro looks down to find a wet glob of wide flower petals in his palm and curses.

"Oh my!" The nurse exclaims, running over to Jotaro, "are you alright?" Before Jotaro can find a proper response, his sight is flickering over the stunned look crossing his classmate's features.

"Hanahaki," Noriaki murmurs in recognition, and Jotaro swallows.

They linger at the hospital a moment longer than Jotaro had hoped. And after a brief evaluation, the doctor identifies the flower vomit sample, and only gives the recommendation of hot black coffee every morning for treatment in the meantime while it's minor. Jotaro listens, but he's too busy fixating on what his excuse will be, when Noriaki catches on.

"This is such a pain," He grumbles as they head out, tucking his hands away in his pockets.

"Well, what's done is done," Noriaki sighs. "If this is the case, we should head to a café first to get you coffee before checking into the hotel." Jotaro wants to protest for a moment, saying they could just get coffee at the hotel, but with Polnareff wandering after Nena, he realizes he probably couldn't stand to be alone with only Noriaki at a time like this. It would probably only make it worse.

"Fine," he agrees, hoping that the conversation ends there. Thankfully, Noriaki doesn't press any further on the walk there. It's when they find a café next to the Ganges, sitting at a small table just across from each other with hardly any room between them, that he regrets the decision.

"If you don't mind my asking, what's your favorite flower?" Noriaki puts one hand up, giving a soft smile, "I don't mean to be rude, but I can't help but be intrigued. I've only ever seen one case before in my life, and with all those girls from school latching onto you, you certainly must have seen many cases like this before…"

Jotaro hates how right he is about that. It's why he never entertains any politeness towards those who seem to gush over him or put him on a pedestal. It would be needlessly cruel, he feels, to give their crushes any reason to grow. It doesn't seem right to make someone else's illness worse, knowing the kind of flowers he likes.

He pauses, before admitting, "It's cherry blossoms."

"Oh," Noriaki's eyes seem to glitter with fascination at that, and Jotaro feels his ribcage twinging. "That _is_ interesting. And it's never gotten... out of hand?"

"A girl has never started barfing branches over me, if that's what you're asking. They hardly know me," Jotaro replies, and he hates how hard the words come out, but it's frustrating. "No one loves me like that," He mutters, swallowing down his coffee to suppress the welling feeling at the back of his throat, "Otherwise I wouldn't be sick."

Noriaki blinks, before humming an apologetic sound. And Jotaro just nods, watching Noriaki's eyes follow the river next to them, watching people float by on rowing boats, paddles brushing next to lotuses drifting through the water.

"I'm sorry, but, one last question," Noriaki asks, face unreadable, "what type of flower was identified in the sample again? Lotus petals?"

"Does it really matter?" Jotaro responds resignedly, but he may as well answer honestly. There's no use. He knows there's only one way out. If Noriaki knows about it, if Noriaki can reject him, then maybe it'll crush his hopes enough to get over him, and focus on what he came here to do.

But instead, Noriaki is sliding his hand over Jotaro's. Blue eyes flicker up to meet the gentlest gaze he's ever seen pointed in his direction.

"You're right," Noriaki smiles, before briefly pressing his mouth to Jotaro's, "It doesn't matter _now_ , does it?"

After that, Jotaro's cough clears up. They don't have the time to talk about it, not when they can't go back to the hotel anymore with the mess Joseph wound up in. But on the car ride to Pakistan, Noriaki talks all about his love of lotus flowers, how they rise through muddy waters towards pristine beauty, how they are the emblems rebirth and renewal across Egyptian, Indian, and Japanese cultures. And Jotaro thinks about Noriaki's eyes staring up into his when he took out the flesh bud, how the next morning he got up and said he'd be leaving with them. He thinks of how Noriaki lives in this state of constant betterment of himself, always rising above his fear to fight, and it's a process of such ever-evolving beauty that makes Jotaro capitulate to this growing thing he'd been harboring in his chest.

"It fits you," is all he can say to Noriaki, who smiles back at him in the dark of the car. And their hands clasp together, knowingly. And it's no surprise that Noriaki seems nervous, seems uncertain about it, but at least they're on the same page. They can navigate this. They'll find their way.


	6. Excuses

**A/N:**

 **Barely got it in on time! College AU with Stands, because Stand flirting is fun (I kinda wanted to do Standcest BUT my little arospec heart can only render body language cues to an extent ;w;).**

 **I deleted and redrafted twice because I wasn't sure how I wanted this to go, so I hope this one turned out okay ':3**

 **-Reddie**

* * *

 _Day 6:_ _Rain_

* * *

The first time Noriaki sees another student's Stand in the classroom, he catches a tall guy sitting towards the back, using his to see the whiteboard during World literature.

By this time, Noriaki's about caught onto the social cues surrounding Stand use on campus. No one uses theirs during class, and he's already watched his physics instructor, Professor Avdol, spell out a silent warning in fire on the first day: _Please refrain from Stand use during class_.

Yet still, Noriaki supposes there's no harm if his classmate hasn't been called on it already halfway through the lecture. So he can't help but bring out Hierophant this time, sidling it slightly closer out of the plain curiosity to see how it measures up to the other's size. It's an intimidating-looking thing, a hulking violet guardian over his shoulder.

The guy doesn't look up, but his Stand turns for a moment to smile and wave at him. Noriaki uses his Stand to wave back, before retracting it.

As he leaves class, he feels a light tap at his shoulder. There's the Stand again, this time with disarming delight in its eyes. And its stone-faced user lags just behind, looming over him as he walks up. Noriaki swallows a bit self-consciously, trying not to fixate too hard on the vibrant blue of his eyes.

"Name's Jotaro," the guy greets, tipping up his hat with a nod.

Putting his hand out, Noriaki replies, "Kakyoin Noriaki." Jotaro's grip is firm on his, and that's how it starts between them.

* * *

They don't get enough of each other, and so extend invitations to lunch, and then to study together, until hanging out in Jotaro's dorm room becomes the norm for them.

It's a comfortable arrangement, with the awkward five-hour gaps that Noriaki has between classes most days of the week. And while Jotaro is apathetic to having company around most days, it's always more than a pleasure just to have Noriaki quietly there, playing a video game, reading for his next class, or napping on the couch.

It's a rainy day when Jotaro thinks he understands why, looking over his shoulder at the couch to watch the rise and fall of Noriaki's breathing. He has to tear his eyes away at the sound of a tap at the window.

Noriaki stirs awake with a soft sound of irritation, not bothering to open his eyes, "Did Polnareff lock himself out again?"

Jotaro pushes the blinds aside to find his roommate waving at him, half-heart earrings jiggling against the shiver of the cold rain outside. He bites back a snort as he lets the blinds go, heading for the door.

"You guessed it."

"For an RA, he certainly forgets his keys quite a bit." Noriaki shakes his head with a small, sighing chuckle.

"Lucky he has me then," Jotaro replies, hand on the knob. And Noriaki hums such a pleasant agreement that Jotaro is thankful for the wave of cold air gusting in, to counter the unnecessary warmth spreading across his cheeks. Ever exuberant, Polnareff lets himself in, half striding and half clambering into the room, rubbing his hands over his wet fallen locks.

"Real nice weather out there, isn't it?" Polnareff greets, sarcasm tinging along the resounding bravado of his voice. Noriaki stifles the laugh in his throat under a wide grin, watching as he attempts to salvage his ruined hair. It's never a dull moment in this dorm, is it?

"Good grief," Jotaro scolds, despite the upward tug at his mouth's corners, "why didn't you use your umbrella? You packed it, remember?"

Polnareff blinks, "Did I?"

"Yeah. You left late to class because you were busy looking for it."

Disbelieving, Polnareff tosses his drawstring bag off his back to dig through its contents, dropping his head with a groan as he pulls the umbrella out.

"Dammit!" He curses, eliciting a bark of a laugh from Noriaki. He nudges him with an elbow, smirking, "Well, good to see you awake, Rapunzel."

"I think you mean Sleeping Beauty," Noriaki flips his fringe, reaching across to Polnareff's desk with Hierophant, "anyhow, don't you have somewhere to be soon?" He dangles the RA's keys in front of him, pointing to the time on the clock with another of Hierophant's appendages.

"Agh! Right!" Polnareff exclaims, snatching up the keys, "Can't believe it's already been fifteen minutes. Bye, Jotaro, Kakyoin!" He smacks the door open again, pivoting on his heel for a second to retrieve his bag, before hurrying back out again. Both Noriaki and Jotaro reserve a brief laugh, before turning to one another.

"You have your last class soon too, don't you?" Jotaro asks.

Noriaki holds a finger up, digging through his jacket for his phone, "I need to check. The professor has been on and off lately…" He glances over his email. "And… she cancelled again."

"Oh," Jotaro says, hoping the soft dismay to his voice goes hidden, "that's a shame. You're heading home then?"

Noriaki pauses a little too long at that question. Jotaro's eyes follow the drop off his long lashes over violet eyes, the footsteps back to the window, the thoughtful gaze watching the spill of rain hitting the pavement just outside the warm, dry haven of the room. There's a part of Jotaro that doesn't want to admit how badly he wants him to stay, how badly he wants to say _you can just rest in here, you've had a long day_ and keep watch over his resting friend until tomorrow crests with new sunlight. Even more frightening, there's the part of him that wonders how okay it would be ask if they could just sit there on the couch and cuddle, until the point they've fallen asleep next to each other, just because school has been stressful and it's cold enough, if for no other reasons.

"If it's no trouble…" Noriaki begins slowly, as if testing the sound of his voice, "may I stay here until the rain dies down?"

"You sure?" Jotaro blinks, "Don't know how long it might go."

"Well, I have to get on the freeway," Noriaki says, "and I'm not yet confident enough about my driving skills to go home in the rain like that."

The words are out of Jotaro's mouth before he has the time to think it through.

"Then sure, you can stay."

* * *

By the time the sun falls from the sky, the rain is still going.

Polnareff had texted not long ago saying he'd be back late on account of hitting the club, leaving Jotaro and Noriaki to themselves. The two of them have since arranged themselves together on the couch, comfortably sprawled, but not quite touching. Both have a mixed propensity towards personal space and a bit of a hesitation to invade someone else's. That sense of hesitation goes doubly for Jotaro, who now, realizing his crush, wants to do everything not to tip Noriaki off to it.

He remembered a conversation they had the other afternoon, how Noriaki had told him he had no close friends growing up, isolated as the only Stand user he knew for years and years on end. But then he came to this campus, where suddenly, he could see all sorts of Stand users out in the open, using their Stands to fix their hair, to propel their skateboards to class, to check if their iced coffees were ready in the campus coffee shop, to greet each other, in elaborate handshakes and high-fives, and flirt in ways that made Noriaki flush embarrassed every time he saw them.

Most of all, he remembered how Noriaki looked up at him with such tenderness as he confessed.

" _You were the first person who saw my Stand and wanted to call me a friend for it. And I don't think you'll ever know how much that means to me, so thank you."_

That was how Jotaro decided this was someone he wanted to protect. And to him, that meant putting aside feelings of romance towards someone who had only just barely known friendship for the first time in his life. He can't ruin that, especially not when he's already more than happy as they are now.

And Noriaki certainly doesn't make it easy.

"Jotaro," Noriaki leans back into the couch, turning his head towards his friend, "I don't want to impose, but… may I stay over for the night?"

He pauses a moment, wanting to say _yes, of course_ , fighting for an excuse to say _no, but you wouldn't be imposing_ , but it's while he's thinking over the words he wants to say next, he feels something wrapping around his hand.

With a glance down, he notices the silver green shine of Hierophant's appendages loosely draped around his fingers. His heart pounds in his chest, with hopes he tries to kill then and there on the spot. But he's seen Stand users do this before, and he _knows_ it's flirting, and yet still he can't help but doubt, and hope, that maybe…

Before he can think about it, Star Platinum's arm has materialized to rest across Noriaki's shoulder. Jotaro, noticing as soon as it happens, is about to pull away, but then Noriaki is leaning into the touch to rest his head on Jotaro's shoulder.

Jotaro swallows, "You alright with that?"

"Mhm. I don't mind." He peers up at Jotaro, something coy in those violet eyes as he asks, "Do you mind though? Me staying over, I mean."

"I don't mind," Jotaro replies, stopping a moment before carefully asking, "Where do you want to sleep?"

He thinks this should be enough, to know what Noriaki's getting at, if Noriaki is just looking for the comfort of a good friend, or if he knows exactly what he's doing…

Noriaki sighs a moment, retracting Hierophant Green and pulling his head away from Jotaro's shoulder with a tentative smile. And Jotaro thinks for a second, maybe he shouldn't have asked that, maybe it sounded too much like an invitation instead of the genuine question it was.

But Noriaki replies, keeping his hands to himself like he can hardly contain them, "If I may be so bold," he fixes his eyes on Jotaro's, warm and wanting, "may I share a bed with you tonight?"

"Kakyoin…" Jotaro can feel the thrum of his pulse and warmth of all its blood rushing over his face, and all he can do is avert his eyes, because here it is. Noriaki can't be saying it any clearer, but he still isn't sure he wants to believe it because it feels too good to be true.

"I think I like you, Jotaro," Noriaki is confessing. "And if you don't feel the same, that's alright too. I'm more than satisfied with being fr—"

Jotaro responds with a quick kiss, and then wraps his arms around Noriaki, clinging tightly, nose buried in his hair.

"I like you too, Kakyoin."

Noriaki clings back, and they just lay there, twined in each other's warmth, and more touch-starved than they had ever realized they were. They don't let go. They don't even head back to Jotaro's bed.

The rain doesn't let up until morning. Polnareff finds them asleep on the couch at five AM and snickers at them, before he drapes a blanket over them and heads to bed.


	7. Will You Stay?

**A/N:**

 **Rock Band AU! Because my brother was playing Guitar Hero on our PS2 while waiting to load another game on his PS3 .w. Also, because Kakyoin's favorite musician is Sting and "Fields of Gold" is a sweet song that gives me the same vibe as the "Last Train Home" ending. Lastly, content warning for mentions of smoking.**

 **Well, it's been great participating in JotaKak Week this year! Hope you enjoy!**

 **-Reddie**

* * *

 _Day 7:_ _Travelling | ANYTHING YOU WANT_

* * *

It's a love made of little moments.

Each day that Jotaro closes his eyes to the world, he has the space to process every second he's spent in it. Before he dreams, he remembers his father up on stage before a concert in New York, smiling around the saxophone at his lips, and how the drum technician glanced over in interest to the bounce of his knee and the tap of his fingers, how she smirked and asked if Jotaro wanted to give it a try.

He remembers years that followed, countless days spent enraptured with drum lessons, music classes, how he joined his high school band and caught the violet eyes of a transfer student who had come to watch their baseball team at nationals. He remembers the footsteps that trailed up to him afterward, and the sense of being drawn closer to him, until the admiration in this stranger's eyes rang as clear as the introduction on his lips: the name, Kakyoin Noriaki, and the words that followed.

 _"Would you be interested in forming a band with me?"_

He remembers rehearsals for their school's talent show in a garage sprawled with dusty game cartridges and empty tubes of acrylic paint, long pale fingers poised to strum melodies with an emerald green pick. He remembers sounds of laughter at repeated screw-ups and frustration over issues with amps, the faces of the bassist and the lead singer who left them upon realizing that Jotaro would not return their feelings, and how Noriaki had been there for him after graduation to tell him it would be okay. Jotaro remembered slipping up, calling his friend by his first name instead of his last, and how the taste of that sound felt just about as right as the fit of Noriaki's mouth against his. He remembers Noriaki's heartbeat pressed to his in something like a perfect rhythm between them, whispering the soothing comfort of a promise, that people will come and people will go, but hell if he wouldn't fight to stay as long as he could at Jotaro's side.

And when Jotaro wakes up in his bunk on their touring bus, he can witness the ever-changing beauty of life, how the scenery moves beyond their windows, always changing, but always the same. His eyes can flicker to the bunk across from his, over curls of red hair lengthened by time, shoulders that have carried the weight of his favorite guitars over the years, hands that have played not just concerts but private serenades just for Jotaro on quiet nights after shows.

It's a night like this one, as they all wind down after a show in Cairo, when their current lead singer Polnareff dials his voice back quieter than its usual boldness, offering a cigarette and a light as they stare out into the evening sky.

"Tonight's the night, isn't it?" Polnareff elbows, with a teasing smile.

Jotaro nods over the drag of his cigarette, exhaling, "Yeah."

"So exciting!" Polnareff grins, stubbing his cigarette out into the ashtray next to them. "You better throw me the garter at the reception, then. Or is it the bouquet?"

Jotaro breathes a laugh through his nose, "He hasn't said 'yes' yet."

"'Yet', eh?" Polnareff echoes playfully, nudging further. Jotaro elbows him back with a snort, putting out his cigarette as well, before leaving to meet up with Noriaki.

* * *

Their rendezvous is not at a special spot, but it's a lovely view of the Nile from where Noriaki stands, soaking in the busy sounds of the city around him. That's where he, too, is thinking of the history between him and Jotaro. He thinks of how the magnetism was immediate, the moment he saw the passion and energy in Jotaro's performance that day. But the soothing, secure weight of affection had materialized so slowly that he eased into love more than fell into it. It came with the realization that Jotaro did not often smile at others, but would smile so naturally in Noriaki's company. It came with late night conversations as they struggled to get homework done after rehearsals, empty juice boxes and sometimes beer cans tossed into the trash can near Noriaki's room door. It came with Noriaki singing songs from Sting on the way to school so often that Jotaro would be pleasantly humming "Fields of Gold" for years to come wherever they walked together.

And now, those same lyrics greet him from across the way, in a low, gentle timber that wraps around his ears the same way Jotaro's hands wrap around his own. Noriaki pulls him close, and they dance next to the Nile, swaying to this long-loved song, as they try to burn the feeling of each other's kiss into their skin for centuries to come, try to preserve the feeling of a cool metal band sliding onto Noriaki's warm hand, the adoration in Jotaro's eyes. They archive this moment amidst the collections of sweet seconds spent in each other's arms, the fleeting but beautiful minutes they will spend together for the rest of their lives.

"Will you marry me, Nori?"

"Yes," Noriaki answers softly, framing his fiancé's face in his hands, "Jojo."


End file.
